The Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of Moving Mars presents the book that launched his career, featuring a scientist who conducts an experiment in cell restructuring that takes on a threatening life of its own. Reprint. AB. LJ.
Blood Music
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
About the Author
* #40 in the Millennium SF Masterworks series, a library of the finest science fiction ever written.
* Blood Music won the Nebula and Hugo Awards in its original shorter form.
* ‘One of the few SF writers capable of following where Olaf Stapledon led, beyond the limits of human ambition and geological time’ Locus
* ‘Arthur C. Clarke has his most formidable rival yet’ The Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I am a big fan of Greg Bear, but only recently got around to reading Blood Music. Okay, there's one big nit here. Bear knows a lot more about biology than computability, so the "intelligent cells" idea is not very plausible. Adding computational theory to the science, including how DNA could be similar to a Turing maching would have made it work better, but there are some important speed issues that would have to be dealt with. But, if you get past that and accept the Asimov "big lie" idea and get on with the book, this is a fabulous read.
What I really liked is how well Bear set me up. The first half of the book sets up what you know is going to happen. It's all completely predictable. Then, Bear tosses a massive wrench into the works, doing the unexpected again and again. I realized that, had this been a Stephen King novel, my predictions would have been right, but Bear is better than that and has a much larger imagination. What follows is an expansion of the story to Bear-sized proportions (and if you've read much Bear, you know how big that can be).
I highly recommend this book to people who like their science fiction to include more science and less (or no) magic.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By C. Baker
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Book Review by C. Douglas Baker
Blood Music starts off with a promising concept and treats
it in a relatively sophisticated manner. Through the use of
recombinant DNA research, Vergil Ulam, creates a sentient single
cell organism. These organisms subsequently begin to build a
society to fit their needs. This means changing the molecular
structure of living creatures, including human beings, to suit
them. Thus begins (and ends) Blood Music.
The better aspects of Blood Music involve the exploration of
the possibility of intelligent single-cell organisms. The scenes
where organisms actually "talk" or communicate with Vergil and
later Bernard had great potential. Unfortunately, most of the
novel reads like a second rate horror flick. I have not read the
novelette that won a Hugo so I suspect the more carelessly
conceived aspects of the novel were left out. The "blob" that
takes over New York city and the "ghosts" that appear to convince
Suzy to "join" them are simply trite B-movie devices.
It's hard to recommend reading the entire novel. Only the
first third and second third are worth the effort.
By ginger snaps
Format:Paperback
I am not a big science fiction fan but, or maybe because of that, enjoyed Blood Music very much. It is a sort of apocalyptic tale: Artificially mutated blood cells with extraordinary intelligence begin to transform human beings from inside and eventually re-shape the entire world according to their own logic.
There are some flaws. The plot appears to be stretched out, perhaps due to the fact that it was originally written as a short story and later developed into a novel. This has also resulted in inconsistency between the first chapters with bio-thriller tones and later sections with calm metaphysical quality.
Indeed, not much action takes place in the second half of the novel. Instead Bear lets his characters ponder on the meaning of change and gradually overcome their fear of the unknown and attachment to the old. And this is why I like Blood Music. There is a sense of anticipation and gentle yearning, which turns a catastrophe into a journey to rebirth. Bear is a brilliant writer who can conceive the end of the world that does not involve aggression and suffering but is brought about by determination and understanding.
There are some flaws. The plot appears to be stretched out, perhaps due to the fact that it was originally written as a short story and later developed into a novel. This has also resulted in inconsistency between the first chapters with bio-thriller tones and later sections with calm metaphysical quality.
Indeed, not much action takes place in the second half of the novel. Instead Bear lets his characters ponder on the meaning of change and gradually overcome their fear of the unknown and attachment to the old. And this is why I like Blood Music. There is a sense of anticipation and gentle yearning, which turns a catastrophe into a journey to rebirth. Bear is a brilliant writer who can conceive the end of the world that does not involve aggression and suffering but is brought about by determination and understanding.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 94 reviews
3.9 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
A disappointment
I'm always on the look out for great SF books, and I decided to try this one after hearing how this was a classic SF novel. Read more
Published on Jan 9 2004
4.0 out of 5 stars
Virgil destroys the world
One of Bear's more popular works from the Eighties, "Blood Music" tells of the takeover of the living world by a thinking, reproducing nanotechnological being. Read more
Published on Sep 29 2003 by John S. Harris
4.0 out of 5 stars
Genetic thriller apocalypse odyssey
Beware, there are some things in this review to spoil some surprises if you haven't read it yet. It's worth reading, OK (and did pick up both a Hugo and a Nebula, so it's not just... Read more
Published on Sep 15 2003 by Trevor Kettlewell
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the way the World ends...
Greg Bear's masterpiece "Blood Music" is astonishing. Compelling. Breathtaking. Horrifying. It is a remarkably deft, cogent, pithy little sorcerous book from the Master of "Big... Read more
Published on Jun 20 2003 by Dark Mechanicus JSG
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best Biotech/Nanotech Books Ever
Greg Bear originally wrote Blood Music as a short story but then later expanded it into a full-length novel. Read more
Published on May 30 2003 by "goodwritingfan"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exhilarating Adrenaline Rush & Great Speculative Fiction!
Looking for a book so good you drop everything else and get behind on all that stuff you should be doing? This is one of those books! Read more
Published on Mar 10 2003 by Jennifer Juday
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good foundation leads to chilling speculation
Greg gave the appearance of knowing his science in this book. It felt convincing. It showed an important part about scientific squabbling and reminded us of the arrogance of... Read more
Published on Mar 3 2003 by mobiusklien
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite SF book of all time
I've been reading SF since the 1960's and I've re-read this book 3 times. Bear takes a simple Frankenstein science moment and extrapolates it out into the the most extreme human... Read more
Published on Dec 30 2002 by Guy Marsden
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting premise, lousy edition.
I enjoyed the book, but my enjoyment was tempered by annoyance at the sheer number of typographical errors in this edition. It's almost as if they couldn't afford a copyeditor.
Published on Dec 17 2002 by Joshua N. Mitchell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Early Bear
Some readers might take issue with the author's concept of bioengineering leading to posthumanity instead of nanotechnology. But remember, this book was written before K. Read more
Published on Sep 17 2002 by Mike Treder
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
